Thursday night, his fellow-athletes, friends and eyewitnesses came together to remember him.

A stellar student athlete with big dreams, Daniel Triano left an imprint on the hearts of many in Scotch Plains.

"The fact he's gone is just heartbreaking," said Rachel Valle, a teammate.

A junior at the Academy for Information Technology, Daniel's life took a tragic turn in a head-on collision along Cooper Road Wednesday afternoon.

Several witnesses say they ran to help when they heard tires screeching followed by a loud crash.

"At the time I knew he was in really bad shape," a witness said.

"They had to cut off the top of the car and they removed that and then actually they called for a helicopter to come," another witness said.

When medics arrived, Daniel was airlifted to University Hospital where he later passed away during surgery.

"We were all there and I tried to talk to him, he wasn't responsive, most I could do was just touch his arm and I said, 'Help is on the way, we know you're there,' that's all I could do," a witness said.

Signing heartfelt messages on pucks and sharing long tear-filled embraces, Daniel's friends and hockey teammates joined together at the site of the crash Thursday to remember their beloved #8.

"Even though he's not here with us he's still in spirit," Valle said.

Through a Facebook post, the Superintendent of Union County Vocational Technical Schools says their thoughts and prayers remain with the Triano family.